The influence of presentation format on sentence processing Essay Example for Free

The influence of presentation format on sentence processing Essay This study investigates the effect of sentence presentation format for optimal processing and takes into account previous research on the way in which people/readers/parsers parse and comprehend sentences. The study included 29 native speakers of English, who were presented with a cohort of sentences each comprising a verb that could be transitive or intransitive but designed as Late Closure sentences to elicit transitive readings or Early Closure sentences to elicit intransitive readings. Results initially adhered to Late Closure in that Late Closure sentences were read faster than Early Closure sentences but further analysis proved that page presentation and line breaks had an impact on the Early and Late Closure sentences which impacted on the readers comprehension and thus posits that initial parsing is not based solely on syntactic rules but includes other factors such as punctuation, which in this case is represented by line break presentation. Introduction Language is complex and sentences in natural languages are usually highly ambiguous and can be interpreted in many ways, but despite this complexity sentence comprehension seems to be easily and quickly achieved. When reading a sentence the sounds (or letters) have to be grouped into words or morphemes and meaning needs to be retrieved for those words or morphemes, syntactic information must be sought, analysed and integrated into syntactic structure, and semantic interpretation also needs to be designated; this process is called parsing, and it is the way in which parsing is undertaken that is of particular interest to researchers. In other words how do people parse? Mitchell (1994:375) tells us that although a great deal of research questions on the issue of sentence interpretation have been derived from an assortment of conceptual classifications, the chief inspiration has been Chomsky’s generative linguistics and his use of tree diagrams and phrase structure rules, which provide a basis from where to determine the different roles of people and objects within the sentence. The main problem however, â€Å"is to determine how people convert a string of words into something like a tree diagram to represent the structure of the sentence† (Mitchell, 1994:376). Do they make an immediate guess about where the current word goes, even if it turns out to be wrong or do they wait until they know for sure before they decide on the syntactic structure of the whole sentence? Parker and Riley (2005:252) tell us that much â€Å"of the research in language processing has been concerned with how people resolve syntactic ambiguity† and that ambiguity can be observed in a ‘garden path sentence,† wherein the sentence appears to have one structure but later it turns out to have another. As in the Garden Path Model adopted by Frazier (1987), many researchers suggest or take for granted that when confronted with structural ambiguity readers cope by following one analysis or interpretation. Frazier (1987) also adopted the core principles – Minimal Attachment and Right Attachment from Frazier and Fodor’s (1978, 1980) Sausage Machine approach to explaining parsing preferences. Frazier (1987:9-10), however, reformulated these principles, wherein Minimal Attachment accounts for the strategy used when putting new words into syntactic trees by using as simple a syntactic structure as possible, and Late Closure strategy replaces Right Attachment and accounts for continually adding new words to a syntactic constituent instead of locating another place for them if they are grammatically acceptable, while prolonging the closure of that syntactic constituent (clause or phrase). Thus, as in Frazier and Fodor’s Sausage Machine, Minimal Attachment makes sure the parser establishes the most straightforward structure in the first analysis of ambiguous sentences and Late Closure certifies that new elements are directly fixed to preceding data, thereby curtailing the likelihood of excessive workloads on memory. It is the fact that the Garden Path Theory (Frazier, 1987) regards syntactic processing as modular – automatic and based purely on the basis of structural information that has been the most controversial issue for researchers. Other researchers provide evidence that other factors such as referential pragmatics (Crain and Steedman, 1985), lexical semantics and plausibility (Mitchell 1987), lexical preference (Holmes, 1987), lexical frequency and combinatory idiosyncrasy (MacDonald, Pearlmutter and Seidenberg, 1994), and prosody (Warren, 1996) have a quantifying outcome on sentence comprehension and determining sentence ambiguity. Clifton, Frazier, and Connine (1984) conducted a study wherein sentences containing only verbs that are optionally transitive (some where a transitive reading and others where an intransitive reading is preferred) were presented to subjects, stopping after the first word following the verb for them to make lexical choices. Results showed that subjects acted more quickly when the word following the verb complemented its preferred argument than when it did not; thus giving proof for Clifton, Frazier and Connine that lexical information is accessed and used very quickly. Holmes (1987), Kennedy et al. (1989) and Ferreira and Henderson (1990), all investigated the issue of another kind of ambiguity. They tried to account for ambiguity in sentences where the verb can take a direct object or a complement and found that different verbs possess lexical preferences and thus prefer different kinds of complements and an NP following a verb could be taken as a direct object which could lead to a Garden Path when the second verb is read, or as a subject of the complement. In 1987 Mitchell conducted a study, results of which he interpreted as support for two stages in processing – a syntactic structure is built on the basis of major category information only – in the first stage and then more lexical information is used in the second stage to eliminate any incorrect attachments. Mitchell’s (1987) experiment gained support from an imitative study undertaken by Stowe (1989), using the same subject-paced word-by-word reading and an eye-tracking technique but results appear to contradict Mitchell’s findings and suggest that lexical information is used in the initial stage of parsing. Thus we find that research undertaken to determine how people parse is far from conclusive and there remains differing viewpoints as to whether other factors other than syntactic factors influence the comprehension of a text when parsing. This study sets out to investigate whether page format – presentation of sentences has any impact on time taken to parse and understand a sentence, in order to establish the best presentation for optimal processing, which would be relevant in advertising and education.

Education: Causes & Effects Essay -- essays research papers

Education: Causes and Effects In many situations, higher education separates people from their families, social backgrounds, and cultures. This often causes mixed emotions, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. Some of these conflicts are described in works such as "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez, and "The Right to Write" by Frederic Douglass. "Aria" comes from the biography of Richard Rodriguez, the son of two Mexican immigrants. He describes his struggle to grow up in a primarily white, English-speaking area. As a young child knowing less than fifty English words, Rodriguez began his schooling in Sacramento, California. He not only faced the obstacle of mastering the English language, but also that of fitting in socially with a classroom of wealthy white children. To Rodriguez, the English language and the Spanish language represented something different. English was the language used to communicate with outsiders. It was a tool for survival, and held no personal meaning. Spanish, however, was the key to his comfort. Hearing spanish brought Rodriguez feelings of love, acceptance, family, and security. Throughout his life, Rodriguez had mixed feelings about his parents. "They were nobody's victims," he said of his parents. "Optimism and ambition led them to a house (our home) many blocks from the Mexican south si...

Effect of static label on a customer Essay

Effect of static label on a customer Introdution            Static labels give directions to the user for example the oil change labels instruct the user on when to change the oil and it is not difficult to remove or reposition those stickers and they don’t leave stains on consumers service wherever they are applied. On smooth service or on glass they look very attractive and thus pleasing the user. They should not stay on the surface applied more than one year. Static labels are used by both big and small businesses. Static labels can be applied to a variety of services because of its static holds both side of the service (Kraurup, Russel 2005). They have greater advantage to the consumer because the labels can be re-applied again and no adhesives are used            An application frequently uses static controls when labeling several other controls or sorting out a group of controls (Kraurup, Russel 2005). The above static control are termed as static labels and they influence the interactions of the customers and the application, there are four major types of static control static labels .They incude text static label , graphic static labels,image static labels and owner drawn static label. Despite the fact that static labels are normally child windows, it becomes hard to select them (Kraurup, Russel 2005).Thus, they cannot be able to accept the keyboard focus also they can have interface of the key board.  A basic graphic static label shows a filled rectangle that can be drawn in many style that include white black or grey. Frames can also be designed to give three dimensional outlook by the use of etched style . the frames must be filled a single color of the five . Applications can also get back a grip to the object of a graphic which is connected with the static label. An owner static label permit an application so that it can be to be accountable for bringing a static control.            Static labels are used mainly because of the static bonding they cause. This is widely used in labeling of products e.g. a stack of newspapers or magazines as it prevents them from shifting during transportation (Kraurup, Russel 2005). The labels cause an electrostatic charge, which in turn makes the materials to bond temporarily. This ensures they stick together during transportation hence making handling easier.            Customers prefer these labels mainly because they do not leave residues on windows especially: as long as the surface is smooth and non-porous (Kraurup, Russel 2005).These static cling labels are also readable even from a distance. Another important aspect of the static labels is that they can hold on to their surface for a long time without having to worry it will come out due to environmental factors like wind (Kraurup, Russel 2005).            For business/ industrial customers, these static labels are of critical importance because they will not have to worry about labels on their products coming out during transportation especially with the long lines of distribution (Kraurup, Russel 2005).            This electronic charge may have negative effects on the customer and humans in general. Some of these labels may produce a huge charge causing shocks on the users. Reference Krarup, S., & Russell, C. S. (2005). Environment, information and consumer behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Source document

Personal Statement On Sports And Sports - 988 Words

I hid as a child: I hid my smile, I hid behind my long hair, and I apologized frequently. I was uncomfortable with who I was and what I looked like, and I often felt as though I was an inconvenience to other people. My journey to change began the day I tried out for a volleyball team on a whim at the age of thirteen; later, with the prodding of my coach, I continued on to basketball tryouts that same fall. I had never truly applied myself to sports before the 2009-2010 season, but something came alive in my mind that year. Athletics has taught me more life lessons than I could expound upon in a single essay, but perhaps the single most important lesson that I learned while playing sports in middle and high school is that I should not be afraid to be a leader. Sports coaxed me out of hiding. Leadership is a character trait that affects every aspect of a person’s life. It is something that must be earned: a title or badge that says ‘leader’ on it does not make a per son a leader, and sometimes that title is given to those who do not deserve it. I played volleyball for three years and basketball for six, and although each sport developed my character in different ways, both sports taught me the importance of courage and leadership. When I started playing volleyball in 2009, I had no idea what I was doing. I had never participated in high intensity team workouts before, I had trouble with hand-eye coordination, and I was afraid of talking to other people and of making mistakes.Show MoreRelatedThe Impact of Sports: Personal Statement566 Words   |  2 PagesTo: From: Date: 2/20/13 Subject: The Impact of Sports in My Life Executive Summary The amount of pleasure that I get from a lifetime exposure to sports is directly attributable to the fact that my grandfather has owned a golf driving range all of my life. More importantly, my upbringing on the range taught me the importance of doing something you genuinely enjoy for a living. My involvement in sports has also provided numerous lessons and tools that are transferable to the pursuit of successRead MorePersonal Statement : The Sports Marketing Field795 Words   |  4 Pagescloser, I must focus on building my personal brand. It is vital that I capture the attention of successful and high profile companies. My target market is organizations that need MBA individuals with a focus in Marketing, specifically in the sports marketing field. My dream career is to work in a advertising, promotions, and marketing position for Nike. In order to reach hiring managers at Nike, I will have to distinguish myself from the competition. The sports marketing field is more competitiveRead MorePersonal Statement : Sports, Karate, And Softball Essay1573 Words   |  7 PagesPersonal Statement For as long as I can remember sports have always been a part of who I am. I was always a very active kid growing up, in fact I played basketball, soccer, karate, and softball. Although I played all of these different sports, there was one that made a huge impact in my life, and that was softball. I was 10 years old when I stopped playing the other sports and focused more on softball. I played softball competitively during the summer and fall on travel teams for 8 years. SinceRead MorePersonal Statement : Sports Management Program Essay1625 Words   |  7 Pagesassignment I have chosen the sports sector as its one of the fastest growing industries today with so many opportunities opening up. There have been a lot of professional players who quit during their peak times due to lack of money and sponsors , but in this generation the investment towards this sector has been sky rocketing giving many talented youngsters the chance to compete at the high level. We also see a lot of stud ents switching their majors from engineering to Sports management as they seeRead MorePersonal Statement : High School Sports1373 Words   |  6 Pageswork hard and remain selfless. To me this is a very important part of the person I am today, and the older I become, the more I realize that not everyone was raised to put in work before expecting rewards. This shows constantly in high school through sports. There are always a couple of people on a team who believe that they deserve a spot on the team, or they deserve the all conference award, or that they deserved to have a starting spot, etc. Having athletic success with these type of people surroundingRead MoreSis! Boom! Bah! Humbug! by Rick Reilly Essay example983 Words   |  4 PagesIn the essay â€Å"Sis! Boom! Bah! Humbug!† by Rick Reilly he analyzes the sport of cheerleading and tells us why he does not care for the sport. His essay starts off stating â€Å" Every Friday night on America’s high school footba ll fields it’s the same old story. Broken bones. Senseless Violence. Clashing egos. â€Å" I think that Reilly has a good opening sentence because right away it grasps the readers attention because it is so strongly worded. It was also good that he starts his first paragraph off withRead MoreLiterature Review on Sport Participation and After School Drop Out1475 Words   |  6 Pages1 The affects on sport participation with regards to the absence of education Coalter et al. (1994) illustrated that those who stayed in education after the minimal school leaving age had higher rates of sports participation than the school leavers. This statement inspired the author of this review to research, and essentially ascertain what implications and constraints occur in an adolescent and adult environment when considering participating in sport. 1.1 Benefits attained by society viaRead MoreCheetah Annual Report1510 Words   |  7 PagesProfile 05 5 Years Financial Highlights 08 Chairman’s Statement 09 Statement on Corporate Governance 11 Other Information 16 Statement on Directors’ Responsibility 17 Audit Committee Report 18 Statement on Internal Control 22 Financial Statements 24 List of Properties Held by The Group 75 Analysis of Shareholdings 77 Notice of Fourteenth Annual General Meeting 80 Statement Accompanying Notice of Annual General Meeting 83 FormRead MoreDicks Sporting Goods Mission Statement990 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Dicks Sporting Goods Mission Statement Dicks Sporting Goods, â€Å"Dicks,† is a great in store and online retailer that carries a very extensive assortment of name brand products. They specialize in products which range from sports equipment like footwear and apparel to equipment for outdoors activities like hunting, fishing and hiking. With a superstore format, Dicks offers a wide variety of merchandise from large vendors such as Nike, Calloway, Columbia Sportswear, and Adidas. The company wasRead MoreSport Active Leisure Unit 10756 Words   |  4 PagesSPORT AND ACTIVE LEISURE: LEVEL 1 BTEC UNIT 10: RISKS AND HAZARDS IN SPORT AND ACTIVE LEISURE LEVEL 1 – 4 CREDITS Tutor: Issue Date: Assignment Timescale (hrs): Review Dates: Task 1: Task 2: Submission Date: Formative/Summative IV Review Dates: |Assignment Brief: | |The aim of this unit is to introduce you to risks and hazards in